KATUSA Training Academy(KTA)
To augment Eighth Army with ROKA Soldiers in order to increase the ROK/U.S. combined defense capability on the Korean peninsula.
"WE GO TOGETHER!' "같이 갑시다 !"
History
The program began in July 1950 requested by General of the Army (GA) MacArthur to ROK President Syng-Man Rhee. On 17 July 1950, President Rhee's letter placed all forces of the ROK under the command of GA MacArthur as CINC UNC. With this authority, GA MacArthur assigned Korean Soldiers to U.S. Army units to fill critical shortages. This was the beginning of the KATUSA Soldier program. There are no other formal agreements between the U.S. and the ROK concerning the program.
The first KATUSA soldiers were assigned to the 7th Infantry Division (ID) which was in Japan preparing for the In-Chon landing. When the 7th ID came ashore in Sep 1950, the Division was 45% Korean Soldiers. The program continued after the Korean War as a training base for technical MOS for the ROKA. During this period, a KATUSA Soldier would spend up to 18 months in a U.S. unit learning his MOS and then would return to ROKA to train others in his MOS. With the establishment of the ROKA training center in 1963, from 1968, this practice ended and KATUSA Soldiers began to spend their whole military tour in the U.S. Army. Today, Eighth U.S. Army is authorized 3,444 KATUSA Soldiers.
Contact Information
Chief of KTA:
SFC Yun S. Song
yun.s.song6.mil@army.mil, (315) 756-3511
KTA Mailbox: